Cissy

Thanks Blazerina, If you're not concerned that it gets your surface too hot, then it must be OK. I will definitely have to try those on the next coop. The 24 watt one I have does melt a 9 oz Hex in a little over an hour. I just thought that the design of another 24 watt warmer could affect melting time and didn't wish to increase this time too much. Of course, if I decide to make some wickless, I will probably use the tureen jars, so I would think they will melt much faster, being shorter and broader. I just didn't want a warmer that could take 2 or 3 hrs. to completely melt a wickless. Thanks again!

I'm jumping in on this thread a little late, but have a question regarding the 24 watt electric burners from OBI in Dani's coop. For those who have used them, do they get very hot on the bottom? I am using another style 24 watt warmer that gets so hot on the bottom, the table I set it on, is getting really too hot. I have even set it on a dish and the table still gets too hot. I can watch it, but I am concerned about selling it to someone else who might not be as careful. I am thinking about making some wickless candles and need a warmer which will melt the wax as quickly as possible, but the one I'm using really concerns me. I don't want to sell one which could damage tables or countertops. Could some of you who are using these from the OBI coop, please check the bottom of these warmers out and let me know? I would like to get in on the next coop for these if they are safe to set on any surface. Just as Sag 77 mentioned, a tip I learned with using tarts: If you are using a tart warmer that has a separate bowl, you can change a tart and save the wax to reuse later by pouring it into a paper cup. When you are ready to reuse it later, you can just tear the paper cup away and plop it back into your bowl.

It's too late for me to edit my post to add this, but I want to say that I don't mean to sound as cold and harsh as I probably came across. I just think that anyone who sells any product should do their research and become familiar with all aspects of their product before selling in order to give their customers the best quality possible for their money. There is so much info available on this board. Everyone has been so helpful to me when I had questions. I suppose I should have tried to help her, but I was afraid she might take offense as some people do when you give advice without their asking for it. Edited to add: I meant to add that this lady was leaving her tarts out all day in a open basket, in an open air market, unpackaged, so they would lose scent that way, I would think, especially if she does this day after day.

Kelly I could be wrong, and a Walmart employee will know more about this than I do, but if Walmart is getting them from China, they are probably ordering quantities by the hundreds of thousands. I believe that most items purchased directly and shipped from China with no middle man involved, require ordering by the thousands and some companies require a committment of so many $$$ per year. Maybe we all need to start a coop to start ordering from China. LOL. Of course, there might be someone on the board who has inside info that I don't.

I was under the assumption that it is not legal to sell tarts without putting warning labels and your company info on them or at least on the package you put them in. I recently saw someone at a festival who had their tarts in a basket for customers to choose from. She then put the purchased tarts in a zip lock bag with no labels whatsoever and handed them to the customer. Does anyone know a link that states this is a law? It seems that I remember reading something to this effect on the board before but can't find it in a search. I would never sell a tart this way just to save money or labor, even if it meant I could charge less to get a sale. I think this was so unprofessional. I wasn't about to tell this lady that her tarts will lose scent this way. If she doesn't care enough to do some research before selling, then I most certainly wasn't going to give her any helpful info. These kind of people who want to make a quick easy buck and don't know or care to learn to make and market the best product possible really irritate me. I say, 'let them learn the hard way'. They will fizzle out quickly when they don't get repeat customers.

Yes, and they claim their candles last forever, but they fail to say that the scent won't. Anyone who uses these will be getting only ambiance and if they want fragrance, they will still have to use something else along with it. The general public will fall for almost anything that sounds or looks good and there are so many retailers out there that care only about making money, not stating all the facts. This product is a one-time sale, so they don't have to worry about getting repeat customers.

They are all so beautiful with such vibrant colors and your labels are gorgeous also. Do you print your own labels? The combination of your candles and labels look so "rich" and classy.

Did anyone see these battery operated flameless candles on QVC last week? They were selling them like crazy......very expensive candles. They use 2 "C" batteries. Here's the link to their site: www.candleimpressions.net They are scented wax with the flickering bulbs. It seems to me that any of you who make the grubby electric candles (I haven't yet), could make these if you used a battery base instead of the electric ones. These don't seem that much more advanced than what some of you chandlers do already. It seems all you need is the money to capitalize on other's ideas and make a fortune. Scroll down to "Press Release" and read "The Bachelor Guy" article.

What kind of warmers are you and your testers using? I've never used your wax, so I'm not familiar with how it does in tarts. I've only tried a couple of Lemon Pound Cake FO's and they didn't throw as well as some FO's do. I find that some floral FO's I've tried (not all), are stronger than some food/bakery FO's. Testing is the only way I can determine if it works in my wax and FO load. How much does the person who uses 25% FO charge for their tarts? Much, I would think, in order to make much profit. Have you tried one of their tarts to see what you think? Do they get lots of repeat customers?

For those who make car air fresheners or are interested in doing so, this is a most interesting article I ran across: http://www.moderncarcare.com/articles/091feat6.html

I'm from South Carolina, sell soy container candles and tarts, but way more of the soy candles. My tarts are strong, so I have some customers who prefer the tarts, but most new customers and repeat customers seem to just prefer soy candles. Soy candles seem to be more popular with other candlemakers in my area, also.

I don't see where you have included the cost of your business license and sales tax license in your costs for making tarts. If you don't have a license, then some competitorwill report you sooner or later. It's best to keep your butt covered and go by the rules. Are you including the sales tax you will charge customers in the 50 or 65 cents you plan to charge? If not, then you will have to absorb that loss. How about the cost of FO's plus shipping that you order and decide you don't like. If you make a lb. of tarts with every scent you get, you will find that some will not sell well and you will have wasted your wax, time, and money. It seems that you only tested for 5 days. Wow! How many different FO's could you test out to see how long they will last in only 5 days and be completely happy with them all? If you don't test them out, then yours will be no better than the ones sold at stores in this price range. I've had customers tell me they will not even waste their money buying a cheap one (not because they want to pay more) but because their common sense tells them they can't be very strong and last very long, especially when there are middlemen involved in the pricing that have to get their share of the profits, also. We should all want to have a better product than anything shipped from Thailand. It would be a much less costly business if we liked every FO we ordered...then there would be no need to try 1 oz samples first, then pay shipping again to order larger bottles. As said before, when the zip-lock bags (which as Bruce said are not a good idea)...run out, you will probably need to order better more expensive bags & pay shipping for them (less profit). I still don't think you are thinking this through thoroughly. If you are selling to anyone, even on a small scale, I can't see how it will be worth paying the cost of business licenses and other expenses you did not include in you calculation. Please don't let me dampen your enthusiasm. Just think it through more thoroughly, make better quality tarts than sold at stores, and have more confidence in your product. You will have more confidence when you know by testing, that yours are better. Don't be happy making tarts that you don't know without a doubt are not much better than the cheap ones from stores. If they are not way better, what's going to keep a customer from buying the cheap scented ones from stores as quickly as they will buy yours? As already mentioned, packaging is so very important. It shows you take pride in your product. If you just stick them in a zip lockbag, then I suppose you can't expect first time customers to be impressed with the quality or be interested in paying much anyway. Even the cheap store ones are packaged better than that.

GrayMaire No, 6% (1 oz per lb.) is not heavily scented at all, not for tarts. The 4-1/2" tealight warmer from Michael's is also not tall enough...flame too close to the top, getting it even hotter. This could be the reason it smoked.

Kforbs126, May I take the liberty to give you some advice? Please don't let your newly acquired excitement cause you to undercharge. If your product is good, your just starting should have nothing to do with your price. Once you set a price, it's very difficult to increase it. When you do, you will only be able to increase a little at a time, then only because cost of supplies and shipping increases, or you will lose customers. Some customers won't even be interested in the increase in your expenses or try to understand if they've never had a business before. I'm assuming you are using 1 oz FO per lb. to be able to sell as cheap as you plan to and making nothing much at all for your time and labor. If in the future, you decide you want to make a living at this, you will not be able to at this price. The new excitement will wear off evenually when you realize you are not making enough money to cover your expenses and what your time and labor is worth. When I started selling, I briefly thought as you are thinking, that I needed to charge less because I wanted to get customers, but I knew I would not be able to continue at a low price and that customers would get upset or not buy anymore when I had to go up on the price to make it worthwhile or to make a living at. Have you thought about all the expenses involved..business license, sales tax license, if you are selling to the public is required, even for tarts because you need your business name on the tarts, yearly income taxes, etc. Also, your location expenses, even if you sell only at a craft shows or flea market. Even if you are only selling around town, you will have gas expenses unless customers come to you, which is not likely. There are so many expenses involved that you might not think about when starting out. Think it through carefully, then set your price. Please don't think I trying to tell you what to do, just think it through carefully before you set your prices in stone. I think your prices are too low for a good quality tart unless you are able to buy your supplies in bulk and don't have to pay shipping, and want to work for almost nothing just as a hobby.

If you use a lower melt point wax even in a 12 or 14 watt electric warmer, your tart will melt just fine, will not "smoke", and the scent will last longer. I read somewhere that the melt pool should not be more than approximately 165 degrees. I don't think the FP of the oil has anything to do with how long it lasts or whether it smokes or not. I think you would only need to be concerned with the FP if you did not put it in wax. My tarts don't smoke in my warmer. I have noticed though that they do smoke if I put them in a high watt warmer or a tealight warmer, because I make mine strong. I tested these same warmers out by making some weaker tarts and they did not smoke in them, so you apparently have a strong scented tart. I do know the hotter your tart gets, the more fragrance it will put out, and if too hot, it can smoke, burning the FO off quicker, but your tart will not last as long. So if your tart "smokes" and you don't want it to, you need to use a warmer with less heat or buy lower scented tarts and lots more of them. (LOL) What really makes a customer happy is a scent they like that will last a long time. Then they feel like they got their money's worth. No one likes changing the wax or adding to it every 2 to 4 hrs. Test all your tarts for throw and longevity before you ever start selling them. Some FO's are not as strong or won't last as long as others. I have used less of one FO that lasted longer than more of another FO. No matter how good it smells, I will not sell it if it doesn't last a long time. For this reason, I have only used app. 20 out of 200 (1)oz samples I purchased. This results in more costly expenses and much, much testing. It also complicates the usual 1 oz per lb. of wax formula, since I use different amounts for each fragrance, depending on how well it throws and how long it lasts.

I shrink wrap mine individually because I think they look more professional that way, but there is so much more labor and time involved packaging them this way, that I would never consider wholesaling them. My time and energy is too valuable to me to not make any profit for it. I don't make enough as it is, considering the labor and time that's involved. The only way I would consider a "middle man" is if I was doing the clamshells, which I haven't done yet. The ones I've seen with candle suppliers hold approximately 2 to 2.5 oz. Does anyone know if 1 oz clamshells are available anywhere? I wonder if first time customers don't prefer buying a 1 oz size. That way if they like another scent better, they haven't had to pay more (since you would have to charge more for the 2.5 oz clamshells). It would be beneficial to repeat customers though if they saved money on the 2 oz size. With less labor involved, you would be able to charge less per oz. I have considered doing it both ways, to make 1st time customers and repeat customers happy.

I find that strong scented tarts will sometimes appear to "smoke" in tealight burners or high wattage electric warmers. That is why I prefer neither type. They actually do get too hot, burn the FO off quicker, and scent will not last as long. Of course, if you are using a low scented tart which can be made and sold at a lessor price, you will probably need more heat to activate the scent throw, and you will be changing the wax much more often, so you really are not saving money to buy the low scented ones. You will simply be buying more tarts to achieve the same hours of fragrance. A strong scented tart costs more to make and purchase, but will last much longer when used in a lower wattage electric warmer.

Price really should be based on the quality of your tarts, i.e. the amount and cost of the FO you use, the quality of FO you use, do they throw scent well and last longer than most others on the market, how well you package them, the labor involved in making, packaging, and selling them. Your time is valuable. It is time you could be working another job getting a guaranteed paycheck. If you do all of the above, you will spend time testing them out before you put them in your line, many times changing the amt of FO, making sure they throw well and last long, usually spending lots of money trying to find the best scents that will sell, that customers will come back for again and again. It's not as easy as some beginners think to make quality tarts, not if you want to compete with the best. If you want to compete with the best, then it will cost you more to make them. You have to be consistent with your ratios once you put them in your line. Then if you can sell a 1 oz tart for $1 and more, and customers buy yours instead of someone else's that are much cheaper, then you will know yours are the best. You will also have to put your licensed business name on them, and be sure not to label them as "tarts".

I.B. Floral 'You make the most of your looks. Your hair is always done and you love designer clothing'. If U could only see me now, LOL. My hair is tangled and I am in my raggedy "designer" T-shirt.

I and my customers really like NG's Gardenia. I have tried Gardenia from two other suppliers. I find NG's to be a smoother, softer, more realistic FO than the 2 others I tried (not as pungent).

I second the Baked Apple Pie from Just By Nature

I like Fresh Brewed Coffee from BCN. Myself and several others think it smells just like real coffee. I use it in tarts, but in a paraffin blend, not soy wax. I've only had one person who disagreed, but I go with the majority. You can't please everyone, noses are so different.

Wahoo!!! BCN Harvest is back in stock. Doneen emailed me this pm to let me know. Now that is really great customer service!

Thanks everyone. Bugtussle, I signed off a little too quickly to get your message and ordered from NG. If it's not satisfactory, I will order from BCS. Don't you just love it when you put something in your line that customers love and expect the same when they repurchase, then your supplier runs out. ..back to all the retesting, extra expenses, explanations to customers, etc.

Thank you so very much OutlandishLady for your help. I will order a lb. with my order to try of NG's Harvest. Looking back on an invoice, I had already ordered a 1 oz. sample, but can't find it at the moment..never got around to testing their's because I liked BCN's. My house is like you say yours is, smells good, but is in a mess...and very disorganized at this time. I guess I'll get around the first of the year to testing all the 1 oz samples I've ordered.